The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 45

I stayed silent for a while, watching as he cleaned the baby and put on a new diaper with that mastery that amazed me. When he finished, I dressed her again and we went out to the kitchen for the milk. I prepared the bottle and then got to the coffee maker; but the moment Alexander began feeding his daughter, the back door of the kitchen opened, and two enormous figures came in.

I almost screamed. I’d already had enough animal-shaped surprises at my door.

Fortunately, I didn’t embarrass myself too much, because I barely moved toward Alexander- unconsciously, as if seeking his protection. The two werewolves who came in froze in place, and the one in front opened his muzzle to speak.

“Oh, I’m sorry, we didn’t know that…” he began, in English with a marked German accent.

All his fur was gray, with dark touches on the muzzle, head, shoulders, hands, and the top of his tail, which he tucked between his legs when he saw me. The one behind him looked over his companion’s shoulder, and wow, he was big and tall-he had to duck to fit through the doorway. This one’s fur was very black, and he had some grayish markings on his face and a long white patch over his collarbones, almost shoulder to shoulder, like a flattened “V.” The eyes of both-so human, like Alexander’s in that form-were as different as their coats: the smaller one had an intense emerald green, and the darker-furred one had a cheerful blue, almost sky-colored. Both had something hanging from their necks; they looked like chains with military-looking ID tags.

“Johanna, they are Christian Schneider, one of my right-hand men and Hans’s youngest son, and Richard Byrne, one of the nine most sensitive noses on the entire planet,” Alexander introduced them, with a certain pride in his voice. “Boys, this is Johanna Grant, our hostess. Maybe you’ll want to ‘change.”

“Definitely. I’m dying for a nap,” said the one called Christian with a sigh. He had a deep but friendly voice, and he seemed quite young compared to Alexander-at least a few years younger. The shapes of his canine face were soft and rounded, with a lot of fur at the base of the jaw and neck. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Grant. A pleasure.”

He headed quickly to the laundry room, and I saw he had a backpack on his back. The other stayed standing in the doorway, not quite sure what to do. His ears drooped a little and he looked at Alexander with intrigue-or rather, at the baby. He turned toward me, that large, elegant muzzle pointing directly at me as he sniffed subtly. He opened and closed his fists, as if nervous.

“… Nice to meet you,” he finally said. His voice was very deep and gritty, from beyond the

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grave.

“Hi,” I answered, still not moving from where I stood.

I smiled at him to calm him down a little. I liked him well enough-he seemed shy.

“So

you ‘found’ Alexander again, huh? Well.” he said, in a friendly tone.

+25 Points

“So it seems,” I nodded, and I felt confident enough to go back to the counter to finish the coffee. There I was, chatting quite pleasantly with a huge black werewolf. I thought a gesture of goodwill would make him see in me what Alexander saw and allow him to trust me, so I filled a cup and offered it to him. “Coffee?”

“Mm, no, thanks… I have to sleep before my next watch.”

“Oh-sorry, how silly of me…’

Alexander was smiling with a certain superiority while he fed the baby in his arms.

“Relax, Richie. She’s an ordinary woman. No death.”

“I’m not afraid of her,” the black wolf replied, lifting his head attentively. The metal pendants hanging from his neck clinked with the movement. He looked at me again and then at Alexander, and gestured with his muzzle. “Is that your daughter? She’s very pretty. The one I haven’t seen yet is your son, but Hans says he’s quite a little rooster.”

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Chapter 45-2

Chapter 45-2

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Ishida flipped a switch on one of the small consoles connected to the laptops, and suddenly

there was the sound of wind or a storm.

“Rex, can you hear me?” Alexander asked firmly.

“Loud and clear, Lai. I’m in your house right now-I just finished checking the area a moment ago,” the other voice replied. It sounded metallic and hollow, very far away. “In a moment he’ll be taking the road back.”

“Where is Anya, Rex? Did you find her?”

It would have been very strange if that hadn’t been the first thing Alexander wanted to ask.

There was a heavy silence on the line.

The moment all of us were waiting for, I suppose.

My heart shrank inside my chest, and I had a bad feeling. I don’t know-my breath caught for an instant. I wished it wasn’t what I was thinking. I hugged Sasha tighter, as much as my injured arm allowed, and waited in silence. Rex’s voice took a while to be heard again over the murmur of the storm, and it came with an anticipatory sigh.

“Yes, I found her,” he said, clearing his throat. “…I’m so sorry, Lai. Anya is dead.”

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